Adventures On The Abecean Sea
by mALX
Summary: Life on a Pirate ship...sometimes it doesn't pay to stowaway! *Changing rating to M to be on the safe side*
1. Chapter 1

**Adventures On The Abecean Sea **

**Chapter 1: The Stowaway**

The pounding of the waves on the bow of the ship created a huge spray across the deck that seeped down into the anchor storage, raining steady rivulets of icy cold water onto the hard chains where Shivani huddled, struggling to retain the contents of her stomach.

At the time it had seemed a good idea, stowing away in the hold of the nearest ship at the Anvil port. The guards had spotted her, and it would have been no time at all before they connected her with the reports of a runaway slave.

Maybe she had meant to do this for years, but not at this time nor place; yet here she was. Her tail was kinking from the hard chains pressed against it, and whatever protection her thin fur gave her against the cold had lost its use against the elements that now assailed it.

Somehow she had not foreseen that, the ship putting out to sea; well, not while she was on board. Exhausted from the night spent walking in the cold air, it had been only natural to nap there in the dark of the hold. The quiet shushing of the boat as it slipped over the calm waters had not woken her from the tired slumber; nor did the gentle rolling as it set out across the Abecean Sea.

* * *

When the storm caused the ship to slam into the choppy whitecaps, throwing the icy tentacles of itself down into the pitch dark hold…and roll violently, sometimes heeling over till she was sure the sails and mast would be washed under in one of the crashing waves; only then had she awakened to realize her circumstance.

It didn't take long to determine the type of boat she had stowed away on either. It wasn't the curses and coarse language spoken in guttural tones that told her, but the "Aye Aye Captain" that followed them. A pirate ship! Oh dear.

It was a well known fact that pirates considered a female on board to be bad luck, no matter the age…would they kill her? Or worse?

Thinking fast, Shivani pulled her worn leather helmet off and twisted her hair into a tight knot on her head, replacing the helmet which now sat at an odd angle. She pulled the straps tight around it, forcing it to smash the bun down flat.

Shivani pulled the rusty iron dagger she had found earlier out of her waistband and cut a length of the furled spinnaker sail that rested in the hold. She stripped off the wet leather cuirass and bound her breasts across with the length of sail. There wasn't much to flatten yet, but there was no sense taking chances.

* * *

*.*

* * *

Tugging the wet cuirass back on proved to be a chore in the tight hull of the ship as it rocked and pounded, throwing her off balance with its violent contortions. Still, she must get out of here, or would be sitting in her own vomit shortly. Even without benefit of a looking glass she was sure her pale skin had taken on a greenish hue, for the nausea had awakened her with a stomach that rolled to match the ships movements.

Crawling out the hatch, she was instantly knocked down from her position on her hands and knees to rolling across the deck by the next lurch of the ship and ended up slammed into the gunwale where she finally gave up the contents of her stomach.

The waves crashing over the bow washed it down the deck toward the stern of the boat. Leaning back and letting the next spray wash over her felt good, in spite of the cold and wet, for the seasickness had left her woozy and faint; and the icy waters revived if naught else.

She closed her eyes, trying to fight off the next wave of nausea when a voice too close for comfort reached her ears.

* * *

"Here be the culprit." The coarse voice was followed by a hand grabbing her up by the cuirass and dragging her toward the stern.

Shivani struggled and beat ineffectually at the massive hand that hauled her up and deposited her before a lowbrow man in the tattered blue coat of a Naval Officer. It was obviously stolen, as it didn't fit him. The armpits and shoulders were torn, and although unbuttoned it squeezed against his bulk.

She promptly 'shot the cat' across the top of his boots, vomiting helplessly and unable to stop.

"Ye'll pay for that lad, ye will!" The Captain snarled, grabbing Shivani by the back of the neck and shoving her down. "Ye'll lick them clean then, weakling."

The words along with the smell of what already rested on his boots caused a fresh wave of nausea and instead of cleaning, She retched some more across the toes of them. Kicking her out of the way the Captain demanded satisfaction from the one that brought Shivani before him.

* * *

"Wad ye bring the lad before me 'fore he were done emptying his load? Ye caused this, now ye clean it. An' ye can swab the cockpit as well. Git the lad's head over the side 'fore he fills the ship wi' his swill." The Captain roared at the crewman.

Grumbling and cursing under his breath, the crewman glared at Shivani. Aye, he would have his revenge, but when the Captain wasn't standing there to see.

Shivani's still heaving carcass was dragged back to the gunwale and deposited with her head hanging over the side so there would be no more clean-up required.

* * *

***.***

* * *

She woke in that position, the seas were calm now and the crew was busy hoisting the sails and swabbing the deck. Before she pulled her head up she ran her fingers around the black film that clung to the gunwale and rubbed it on her face to hide its delicate features.

Pulling herself across the deck toward the cockpit, she was stopped by a pair of Naval Officer's boots that were too small for the feet and legs jammed into them. The Captain's voice boomed above her.

"So, yer joinin' the living I see. Are you gonna git to work or do we have to toss you in the briny an wake you up? This ain't no pleasure cruise. Ye mind telling me what ye were hired to do on this ship?"

She thought quickly. She had seen kitchen work done before. Trying to deepen her voice and make it sound as uneducated and coarse as those around her, she answered.

"The galley…Sir."

"Well git your weak carcass to it then. An' be quick about it."

* * *

With a hurried, "Aye Aye Captain," she hoped was a good imitation of the one she had heard the night before, she scurried down the main hatch into the nether regions below decks. She tried not to draw attention as she glanced around, trying to see anything that looked like it might be a kitchen. A horrible smell assailed her nose, and she followed it to what could only be the galley.

It was filthy. A malodorous scent billowed out of a pot tied onto a grate over the small fire pit with lengths of steel wire. She couldn't bring herself to taste the vile concoction, but upon glancing behind her saw the Captain standing in the passageway watching her. She better do something quickly.

Grabbing a measure of salt, she pulled her dagger out and began scraping the salt block into the soup. Crusts of debris filtered off the blade and into the vile brew below. Her nerves on edge by his scrutiny caused her hands to tremble, dropping a large portion of the salt block into the soup.

Her eyes fell on an overly large wooden ladle. Scooping it up, she pretended to be stirring the reeking mixture in the pot while she searched for the block of salt. Glancing back she saw the hulking form of the Captain no longer filled the passageway.

With a sigh of relief she fished the much diminished slab of salt out and dropped it back on the shelf. She would have to wait for the cook's orders, never having cooked before.

* * *

***.***

* * *

A young Nord boy wandered in and stopped, surprised to see her. "Who are you? I thought I was the galley slave." He spouted, then flushed.

Shivani felt much better about her disguise after that; the boy could not be more than ten years old and looked much more feminine than she did. His voice had a high pitch as well. Should the crew suspect a woman on board, this young lad would be picked over herself as the culprit, and could prove he was not a girl, so would not be harmed.

She lowered the pitch of her voice and tried to sound uneducated. "Uh, I'm your help."

His eyes brightened. "Oh good, because I'm not really sure…"

Drat! She was hoping he knew more than her. "Where's the cook?" She asked, her voice cracking from trying to lower it deeper than she was able.

"He near got killed last night in the storm. Got cut real bad, bled into that stew."

Shivani almost gagged, thanking her stars she had not tasted of the concoction.

"You mean its just us?" Shivani nearly squeaked. The lad nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Meal**

"What is your name, boy" Shivani asked, making her voice gruff like the Captains.

"Er…John." The lad replied.

"Mine too." Drat! That was the name she was going to use! Now what should she do? "How'd you get a name like John, you're a Nord, aren't you?"

"Well, you're a Khajiit, how did you get a name like that?" He demanded.

"Oh, well, my parents were poor and uneducated." Shivani covered quickly.

"So were mine." John said, his voice taking on a stubborn note.

"Well, my name is John too, so we better work out a way to tell us apart when they call for us. I guess I don't mind being called Jack." Shivani gave up trying to keep the name, John was definitely not going to relent.

* * *

"I know, I'll call you Master Jack, and you can call me Evil John!" His eyes lit up.

"So which one of us is going to do the cooking, and which be the helper till the cook gets back?" Shivani asked, thinking he may back down now that she gave in on the name.

"I'll help, I only signed on as a galley slave." John stated, drawing himself up so he was eye to eye with Shivani.

"Well that is all I signed on for too. If you have more experience, then you should cook and I will help you."

"You're older and bigger, you cook and I will help you." John's face was beginning to look belligerent.

"I can see why you picked the name Evil John. Well we can't fight about it. I guess I will cook and you help. The first thing we have to do is cut some onions for frying. You cut them and I will…"

"Why, I hate onions."

"Because if you fry onions, they put out such a good smell that everyone gets hungry, and they will eat salted wood if you serve it."

"Wow, you really are a cook!" Johns eyes shone as he looked at Shivani.

In spite of herself, she preened a bit at that. She had overheard a woman say that in the market when she was stealing something to eat.

* * *

***.***

* * *

Shivani eyed the large pot of stew, wondering why it seemed to be emptying out before their eyes. "John, come look. The stew is disappearing. It was full before, and look it is almost halfway down now."

"Do you think the ship is haunted?" John's eyes rounded and he darted glances into the dark corners of the galley.

"Don't be ridiculous, even a ghost wouldn't eat that slop. Maybe we should add more water to it."

"Good idea, I'll prime the pump for you." John offered, obviously in a good frame since he had won both arguments.

Blackened water spurted out of the mouth of the pump, filling the air with a foul odor. John began choking.

"We can't put that in the stew." He gagged out.

* * *

"I think someone already has by the smell of that stew. I've never seen anything like that, it's disgusting." Shivani and John both stared at the reeking pot on the stove.

"Well we have to do something, there isn't enough stew there for the crew. A ship this size must have another holding tank, that one must be tainted." Shivani found a heavy metal valve and turned it. "Try it now John."

Sure enough the water appeared clear and pure; in fact it glistened slightly. John cupped his hands and tasted it. "This is really good!" He declared.

Shivani put her hand under the tap and caught some. "That really is good! Fill the ewer the rest of the way with that then. We will use that for cooking and the dirty water for cleaning. Maybe that other side is to pump the bilge or something."

* * *

Shivani didn't know if it was the headiness of being free for the first time in her life, or the fresh sea air, but suddenly she felt full of energy; to the point she would burst if she didn't do something.

"Come on John, lets clean this place up!" She said, her voice lilting. She turned the valve back over to the bilge water.

"Just what I was thinking!" John said enthusiastically, his eyes like round saucers in his head.

"John, I know this is a pirate ship, right? I mean the Captain…well, how much do you know about them?" Shivani got John talking as they scrubbed the galley down.

* * *

*.*

* * *

"Captain Dugal, he is Lord Captain of them, he is known as the Cutthroat of Hunding Bay. Some of the crew are his band, hand picked and trained. They are the Red Sabres 'cause their sabres glow red from enchantments. People call them things like…Scourge of the Abecean Sea, Terror of the Gold Coast. They are the best fighters you'll ever see, just wait till we blow alongside another ship." John stopped scrubbing and looked at Shivani, his eyes still unnaturally large in his face.

"The rest of the crew is just like you and me, picked up at ports to do the work. They're the ones you gotta watch out for. They'd kill you as quick as look at you. One of 'em already has you pegged to be thrown over the side because he had to clean your seasickness up."

A shiver went down Shivani's spine. "Uh…where do I bed down nights?"

"When you aren't spending the night repainting the deck with last nights supper you and I sleep in the same cabin with Jak Silver, Scurvy John Hoff, and Zedrick Green. They aren't as bad as the rest. Alacanti, he's not so bad either. They are Red Sabre.

* * *

Shivani made a mental note to imitate the way John spoke. He sure was talkative all of a sudden. John interrupted her thoughts.

"You best not try and serve that swill to the Captain or the Sabres, unless you want one of their red sabres in your back."

"Well what do I do then?"

"The cook makes them steaks and serves them after the crew. I saw that yesterday."

Shivani imagined that was to keep the crew from a mutiny when they smelled the steaks cooking and got stew. "You mean you've only been here one day and learned all that?"

"Well I wasn't seasick." John said smugly, indicating where the salted meats were stored. "They smuggle too. Right now they are smuggling a whole load of Skooma to sell, its somewhere down in the hold. They thought I was asleep and were talking about it."

"Skooma? Isn't that a drug of some sort? How many Sabres are there?"

"I don't know, I thought it was some kind of gold or something the way they talked." John pointed to the stacks of steaks. "John Cook just grabbed one of those, and sticks potatoes in that tray there."

"Is everyone on this boat named John?" Shivani wished she had opted to keep the name, it was obviously a good pirate name.

* * *

***.***

* * *

"Okay, now give me those onions and we will start frying them right before the men line up for the grub." Shivani pulled a large flat pan out and tossed the onions in with a slab of butter.

Sure enough the smell wafted up the passageway to the deck above, and in no time the crew stopped what they were doing to hurry down. Shortly after the crew left carrying their steaming bowls however, curses and shouts of "Kill the cook" could be heard.

Shivani looked at John. "Run!" She shouted, then followed him.

They darted down the passageway to the forward cabins where the Red Sabres bunked.

"In here!" John lifted up a flat mattress on one of the bunks to show a hidden hatch. Shivani indicated he go first and then followed quickly, hoping the mattress would drop back into place and hide the hatch.

* * *

"What is th…" Shivani started to ask, but John covered her mouth with his hand, pointing upward. Through the cracks in planks above them Shivani could see they were in a small crawlway underneath the floor, and could easily be heard by anyone above. She and John froze as if turned to statues when the crew pounded over their heads seeking them.

A screaming sounded then, that of a wild animal in fear or pain, maybe both. Shivani and John clung to each other in terror as the sound came closer and intermingled with the sound of something being dragged.

Heavy boot steps echoed in their ears from the other end of the passageway, then the Captain's booming voice.

"Unhand 'im!" He growled. The sound of a sword leaving its sheath followed.

A loud thud over their heads and they could see through the cracks in the planks the face of a man for a second before he scurried away.

* * *

"Git back to work 'fore ye taste my sword." The Captain shouted.

"Aye Aye Captain!" The crew members that had been dragging the man scurried out.

Shivani and John both jumped and screamed as a glowing red sword pierced through the crack between the slats over their head.

"Ye can come out now." The Captain's voice echoed eerily down to them.

Scared, but obedient; Shivani and John crawled back through the hidden hatch. The Captain eyed them for a minute and then grunted. "Where's my supper? And my men? D' 'ye think we dinna need to eat?"

"Right away, Captain sir!" Shivani said, trying to imitate his gruff voice. John saluted him.

"Who was that man they were hurting?" Shivani asked, knowing the answer already.

"John Cook." Evil John whispered, his eyes round in fear.

* * *

*.*

* * *

They were terrified on the walk back to the galley, clinging to each other; their eyes darting around for signs of an ambush. Surprisingly the crew ignored them. They all seemed to be taken over by some renewed energy and good will. Shivani noticed their eyes were overly large pools in their dirty faces.

"I think these men are on drugs, John." She whispered, pushing him into the galley alcove.

Not knowing how to cook a steak, Shivani pulled the pot of stew off the small open fire pit. She lined the steaks up on the blackened grillwork that covered the pit. In one corner she lay the flat pan filled with sliced onions. A wonderful aroma emerged, the combination of the steak and onions. She pulled the tray with the potatoes steaming on it.

"Oh no, look! The steaks have dripped all over them, what should we do?" Shivani asked, then jumped. The Captain and the Red Sabres had entered the galley.

* * *

"Somethin' smells good." one of the men said, sniffing the air.

There was no time to change anything. Evil John grabbed plates and they forked the steaks and potatoes onto the plates, slathering the fried onions over the top.

Before they cleaned the dishes and galley that night, Shivani tapped John on the shoulder. She pulled two potatoes out from a under a pot lid.

"These were left over from the Sabre's meal. Come on John, let's eat first." Shivani bit into hers, surprised how good they tasted with the steak juices dripped onto them.

"Mmm, these are really good!" John said, demolishing his.

"Well I wasn't eating that stew, that is for sure." Shivani declared, polishing hers off as well.

* * *

The next morning the Captain popped his head into the galley. Shivani and John both stood at attention and Shivani imitated Evil John's salute this time.

"Ye two are the official cooks from now on." The Captain bellowed.

It turned out that it wasn't just the meal that swayed the Captain; although he and the Sabres each whacked Shivani and Evil John hard on the back to show their appreciation of what they called "The best grub we've ever had on this tub!"

It seemed the Captain was also very impressed by the hard work the crew put in after eating what he called "the hearty stew." He said he had never seen the men more eager to put in a day's labor. The fact that the men cleaned the rest of the pot of stew up later and then had the renewed vigor to scrub the ship from top to bottom is what clinched the decision.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Black…Er…White?…Flag**

The Black Flag gleamed and glistened as it cut through the calm waters like a shark, charging across the coast of Hammerfell by dint of clinging close enough to the shore to not make an easy target for Commodore Fasil Umbranox and his Navy that took pleasure in stalking Captain Dugal.

They had rounded Hnea Rax the night of the storm, and had just now breezed by Helgathe. The weather had stayed fair, but with a decent wind; enough that they would be in Daggerfall well before morning if they could keep up this clip. Today the sun shone down on the ship, reflecting off the high polish of all the metalwork.

Captain Dugal spat on the deck, and instantly fifteen men were fighting each other to swab the spot clean. What had at first seemed a blessing, the men all eager to work…had now become a curse. They cleaned the ship so well that it could no longer slide unnoticed through the waters and creep up on other ships, or avoid enemies bent on destroying them. Why it even glistened in the moonlight now! Yet, somehow he was not prepared to tell them to stop working so hard. There had to be a way around this, give them something else to do.

He had caught the men tying themselves to the bow and slipping along the side of the ship in motion to scrape the barnacles off the hull and had to put a stop to that. Twice he had caught them tying off the Crow's nest to scrub down the sails. He had never had a crew so eager to work, nor even heard of any.

* * *

"Ship Ahoy!" The cry came from the Crow's nest. Now that might give them something to do and wear them down, plus garner some booty at the same time. One could never do too much looting.

"Blow alongside 'er!"

"Aye Aye Captain."

"It's an escort Captain! I can see the Galleon on the other side of the Frigate!" The lookout called.

Captain Dugal's eyes lit with greed. "Gold. There'll be plenty of gold then, if they have an escort. Man your stations, all men on deck!"

"Aye Aye Captain!"

They furled their flags and lowered them quickly, raising the flag of the Imperial Navy till they got in closer. Their pirate flag was tied into place, ready to hoist when they pulled alongside.

"AVAST!" They shouted.

* * *

Surprisingly the Frigate dropped it's sails, as did the Galleon; not even trying to run. Captain Dugal was used to seeing whole crews leap into the water when they saw the Black Flag coming, the reputation of his Sabres went well before them. But to drop their sails and tie up before they arrived? He signaled to raise the large black banner that let the other ship know they were being attacked as they pulled alongside.

The deck was alive with men, so eager for movement that they could not even stand still long enough to wait till the ship was brought along side. Several climbed up on the boom of the Main and walked across it, then leaped on board the other ship as the Black Flag tied up to it.

For some reason the men on the Frigate did not start fighting right away, even with the Captain of that boat standing right on the deck. Stunned, Captain Dugal boarded the other ship and walked up to the Captain of it.

"I'm Captain Torradan ap Dugal, these are my Red Sabres. We are here to lighten your load. Givin' up so easy won't stop us from takin' these here boats off your hands now, but if ye' are smart we may let ye' live to work on my crew. How 'bout it, Matey?"

* * *

*.*

* * *

The Captain laughed. "You had better not pull into port dressed like that, they'll have your hide. Were you out to sea so long you outgrew your uniform?"

"Are ye' daft man? I just told you we are here to lighten your load! Now start emptyin' yer coffers up to me!" Captain Dugal stared hard at the other Captain to see if he had maybe imbibed too freely.

The Captain laughed again. "I don't know how you got those costumes for your men, or why you are playing this prank, but you've had your fun. Why did you really want us, can we be of assistance to you?"

"I'm telling you how you can 'be of assistance' to me! Empty your coffers, man! And make it quick 'fore I forge a new hole in you!" Captain Dugal roared.

"You've had your fun, now what do you want?" The Captain asked, showing irritation.

"Are you telling me you don't believe I'm Captain Dugal, nor these the Red Sabres?" Captain Dugal's face was beginning to purple with anger.

* * *

"I've seen the Black Flag, Captain Dugal's ship before. It lives up to his name. Your ship could be called the 'White Flag' maybe. It's cleaner than any Imperial Navy ship I've ever seen. Now what can I do for you, Captain? I'm a busy man. I have to escort this Galleon laden with gold to Winterhold."

Captain Dugal turned around and looked at the Black Flag. It was immaculate, gleaming in the sun like a new ship. All the woodwork had been varnished and polished to a high sheen, the metalwork shone brilliantly in the sun, all the lines were scrubbed till they contrasted pure white against the teak decks. Even the anchor chain glistened like expensive jewelry. It really didn't look like the Black Flag anymore.

He glanced around, his men had surrounded the crew, but none of the captured crew was scared or fighting them, they were TALKING! Gossiping like wenches! He had to think for a minute. This was most dissatisfactory. He was used to rousing fear or a fight, now that was a satisfactory response. What should he do now?

"Yeah, you are right, we are supposed to take over that Galleon and relieve you of your post temporarily. The war and all, ye' know. By order of Uriel Septim VII himself I hereby take charge of these two ships. We could use the extra manpower though, to maneuver them, if your crew want to stay on board and help. We'll be dropping you off at Daggerfall to return to your post."

* * *

Somehow just taking the ships without a fight felt…cheap. It was too easy. Nothing felt right about it. Captain Dugal would rather have lost crew members in a big battle than for it to go this easy, but to just start slicing away at them while they sat there grinning, it just wouldn't sit well with him. Still, he sensed trouble, and his inner warnings were rarely wrong. They had kept him alive all these years, and right now they were going off like a channel buoy in a hurricane.

The Captains and First Mates of both the Galleon and Frigate were brought aboard the Black Flag and treated as guests. Captain Dugal found his stomach souring and churning at the thought, he may as well pull out doilies. It was unmanning to not kill them or hold them captive at least.

The crew were put to work transferring the gold and wine over to the Black Flag, and two Red Sabre were positioned on each of the other boats to take over for the Captains and First Mates. Captain Dugal divided his crew to place a division of his own men on each boat as well, taking equal portions of men off the other ships to work on the Black Flag.

This seemed to cause a disturbance among the crew members. Surprised, because till now they had been overly biddable, Captain Dugal went on deck to see what the problem was.

* * *

"What in blue blazes is goin' on here?" He bellowed. The fighting stopped and his crew all turned to face him, their eyes a mixture of belligerence and desperation.

The divisions from the other ships had set to work, and were watching the fighting with leery eyes from a distance as they coiled the lines and lay them up to set sail again.

In unison they began shouting again. "I'm not leaving the Black Flag! Let someone else go to the other ships! I don't want to go!"

Captain Dugal raised his hand, and they fell silent once again.

"Are ye' men disobeying a direct order? I didna' ask ye' to go. Now git yer carcasses on them ships so we can set sail 'fore I send ye' there at the end of my sword!"

The crew members were looking back and forth amongst themselves, and then in a rush they stepped forward. "If we has to go, then let us take the cook and we'll send one from the other ships here!"

At that the Black Flag crew members that had been selected to stay aboard her ran up. "Nae, the cook stays here."

"Have ye' all gone daft? Now git to yer assigned stations. The cook stays here."

With a bad grace and much cursing the men leaped over to the other ships, but kept casting desperate glances back to the Black Flag.

* * *

***.***

* * *

A squall was brewing off the Eltheric Ocean and moving fast toward the trio of ships as it neared Dragon Grove. It would be a huge risk to try and reach the Iliac Bay in a storm of this magnitude. A shelf of rock lay just under the surface at the mouth of the bay, and had taken down even experienced sailors that had underestimated the deadliness of it. It was said the witches of that area had put a curse on it. It may be superstition, but Captain Dugal had seen some he knew, knew how good they were; but they had died to the shoals at the mouth of that bay. He would not chance it. He called the order to the other ships to turn back around. They would have to seek shelter in the shallow cove they had passed a ways back. It was a risk as well, but not nearly as bad as forging ahead would be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Squall And The Brawl**

Captain Dugal leaned over the charts for that cove. There were some shoals, and it was shallow. If he was quick enough to outrun the storm there was a small channel they could find shelter in. There was only a two foot draft between the keel of his ship and the bottom of the channel, the storm may blow that two foot down and they would run aground. It may be safer to anchor just offshore and ride it out.

As he was making a decision on which course to take his eye caught the two cooks walking down the passageway talking.

"John!" Captain Dugal called. They kept walking and talking as if they hadn't heard him. "John!" He tried again. Were they deaf? He stepped quickly up behind them and grabbed them both by the shoulder.

"Are ye' two deaf? I called ye!" He roared.

"Sorry sir!" They said in unison.

* * *

"Now ye' both listen to me good. Today was the closest I've ever come to having a mutiny an' it was over the two of ye'. I won't have no trouble, ye' hear? I'll go back to eatin' swill an' the two of ye' will be off at the next port."

"Did we do something wrong sir?" Shivani asked, trying to make her voice sound like a deck hand she had heard.

"Ye' cook too good. The men are fightin' , not obeyin' orders over yer cookin'. An' it's too hearty, the men are too full of energy. They clean till I don't know me own ship."

"They'll kill us if it ain't good." Shivani imitated his slang.

"Well I may kill ye' if my crew mutinies over yer cookin'"

Both Shivani and John's eyes got large. "What should we do sir?"

He pointed at Evil John. "Git to the pantry and kill some rats. Ye start servin' em' ratmeat stew. That ought to do it."

"Yes sir." Shivani said. Evil John looked sick.

* * *

"Look John. They are still eating the stew like it's delicious. What are we going to do?" Shivani watched the men emptying their bowls and going back for more.

"I told you not to use that recipe you found." John chewed his lip like he was thinking. "Hey, maybe we should start spitting in it."

"The recipe was from Ocato, who would think it would be good? And I'm not going to spit in it, you do it." Shivani watched another tar digging in the pot to refill his bowl.

"I have a problem making spit" John declared, folding his arms.

"So do I. What should we do? We have to do something." Shivani elbowed John. "That is his third bowl."

"They've all been doing that. When we first left Anvil they would come back for seconds in about eight hours. Now they are back in less than two hours. I've heard them sneaking into the galley at night to see if there is any more left. If there isn't they get into a terrible state. It's like they are addicted to your stew." John mused aloud.

* * *

"That's it John! You're a genius!" Shivani hugged him and John pushed her off.

"Hey! Watch it, will you? What are you talking about?" John shook Shivani off him.

She flushed, realizing she had almost blown her cover. "Drugs! We will drug the stew so they get sick off it instead of loving it!"

"What kind of drugs?" John looked intrigued.

"I don't know. We will need to find the sick bay and sneak in it when no one is around. We can't do anything about tonight, but tomorrows stew…that is if we can find any drugs." Shivani looked around. "Let's leave clean-up till later, since they are still coming and going. We need to scout out that sick bay. Do you know where it is?"

"No, we can just look in every cabin and if there are drugs, grab them. Don't forget when we tie off that we can check out the other ships for drugs too." John held up a large empty potato sack.

"You are a genius John, I never would have thought of that. That sack will be perfect."

* * *

"Good grief, help me pull this sack John, it is too heavy for one person." Shivani was grunting dragging the heavy potato sack full of drugs they had taken from the cabins. "And we haven't even found the sick bay yet! I wonder what all these are? Do you think this is that Skooma they are smuggling?"

"I don't know. Still, we should do the other ships while we are tied up close tonight. We won't be able to get back to them later, and may need it." John said, grunting as he helped Shivani tug the sack into the galley.

"Get the rest of that leftover stew. Lets start putting stuff in it now, that will give us a head start on tomorrow." Shivani started opening bottles while John dumped them in the pot and stirred.

"It looks too watery, we better add something to thicken it, or cover up the taste in case the drugs make it taste funny." John suggested. The stew was almost clear.

"You're right John. Good thing you're here, you are the brains of this operation." Shivani said, digging in the pantry for anything to add to the stew. "Here, put this in it."

"Horse radish?"

"Yes, it will cover up the taste of anything. Now let's dump these empty bottles over the transom while we are still moving. The storm should blow them away."

* * *

The storm had blown them quickly to the cove. Dropping the sails the crew had rowed carefully up the channel to a sheltered spot and tied the three ships together.

John and Shivani crept into the galley and grabbed the potato sacks.

"Look John, the stew is half-way down again. We better hurry."

"Where did you hide the rest of the drugs we didn't use?"

"I slid them into the guest quarters those other Captains are staying in while they were in with Captain Dugal." Shivani whispered. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

They had barely set foot on the frigate when John clapped his hand over her mouth and pulled her down behind the dinghy. Shivani froze. The crew members that had been forced off ship were creeping over to the Black Flag. The noise of the storm approaching covered any sound they made. Just as Shivani started to rise again she caught site of the old Black Flag crew creeping off the Galleon. She ducked back down and waited. Just like the others before them, this crew slid silently down the main hatchway.

"Come on John. We better sneak down the forward hatch so no one will see us."

When they had filled both sacks and their pockets up they started back creeping across the plank. Suddenly they heard shouting coming from the main hatchway.

"Quick John, climb down and hide on the transom. They must have discovered we were drugging them." Shivani pushed him. "Forget the potato sack, just get down there." She shoved the sacks under the dinghy that covered the stern, then shot around and dropped into the water, pulling herself up on the transom beside John. They pressed themselves against the hull as tightly as possible.

The shouting grew louder, the men were barreling up out of the hatchway and onto the decks. Shivani heard swords clashing and the twang of a bow. She looked at John and he shrugged. There was an all out battle going down on the decks of the Black Flag.

* * *

"What in the Blue Blazes be goin' on here!" Captain Dugal bellowed, pulling his large bulk up through the hatchway.

As he climbed out he saw three crew members that he distinctly ordered onto the Galleon and Frigate. They were swinging down off the stays for the main mast, flipping through the air as if they were shot from cannons.

"Sir! These men were caught stealing some of our stew!" A deckhand yelled as he let loose an arrow with a loud twang.

"Yer fightin' over stew? Have ye' all gone DAFT?" It's made with rats, ye want rat meat that bad go git down to the hold and kill some ye'…"

"TWANG"

"Git yer own stew, ye got no business on the Black Flag no more, ye been reassigned, ye bastards!"

"TWANG"

"Did ye hear me? I'm your Captain, and I told ye to stop fightin' over the damn stew! I'll throw ye' all in the brig!"

"TWANG"

"SABRES! Git yer carcasses up here and give these men a taste of who their Captain is."

"TWANG"

"I'll teach you to steal my stew you sorry…"

"TWANG"

The clash of swords was getting too close, and Captain Dugal skirted over to the side. One look at the men told him they were high as the crow's nest on some drug. Their eyes were as round as saucers and not a pupil to be found. Their actions were so jittery it was amazing they could fight at all. Instead they seemed to be in a frenzy of some sort, shaking uncontrollably but still agitated over a stew? What was wrong with these men? It must be that the drugs they were on made them lose their minds.


	5. Chapter 5

******Chapter 5: Fishing For Trouble**

The sound of the Red Sabres crashing onto the deck with their swords humming to life broke up the fight in more ways than one. Bodies on fire flew over John and Shivani's heads as they hugged the transom. The screams of the burning crew members cut across the dark cove and echoed back eerily to them. Bodies laden with arrows floated by as the tide began to ebb out of the small basin they had sheltered the night in, a cave like structure off the channel.

When it was finally quiet they started to creep back up on deck, but were frozen in their tracks by Captain Dugal's words to the Sabres. "Find them cooks and fry 'em!" His laugh afterward sent chills down Shivani's spine.

"Aye Aye Captain!" They said in unison.

The rest of the crew was ordered back to work. The planks were hauled in and the lines untied. Soon the large oars could be seen making a pattern in the water as the ships made their way back down the channel.

* * *

When the sails were raised and the ships broke out of the mouth of the cove and into the open sea, John and Shivani became terrified they would slip off the transom. The water churned by them with what seemed tremendous speed. It became hypnotizing to watch, and Shivani feared she would get dizzy and fall in.

The wind was stout, and coming from the direction they needed to head. The Black Flag was tacking across it at a great rate of speed, nine knots at least.

When the wind caught in the sails the ship heeled at a severe angle to the port side and they were sure they would slide in. They huddled on the starboard side of the transom, but knew when the boat was turned for the tack back towards land they could be pitched off.

Surely the Red Sabres had gone below by now, Shivani had to chance it. She would rather be back in the anchor hold again.

"Don't leave me here by myself!" John cried.

* * *

It must be getting to him too, Shivani thought. She climbed up the ladder and peeked, but could see no one moving. The decks were covered in blood and entrails. Arrows were everywhere, sticking out of the sides of the main cabin, the dinghy. No one was swabbing the deck, where was everyone?

Shivani went to the starboard side. She had never liked walking on the side the boat was heeling on before, but was even more averse to it after being that close to the moving water sitting on that transom. They began creeping toward the bow when the sound of red sabres leaving their sheaths gave their distinctive hums.

"There ye' be ye' dirty scums. Cap'n says yer troublemakers. An we're trouble enders."

The mainsail had been secured low to garner the most wind. The Red Sabres with their swords out were having trouble ducking under the low boom, so instead began running along it towards the stern of the ship.

"Run John!" Shivani yelled pushing him. She ran behind him, darting looks back to see where the Red Sabres were.

* * *

*.*

* * *

An arrow sticking up out of a line tripped Shivani. She stumbled forward, tripping on the handle of the winch and breaking the line wedged in it free. It made a whining sound as it was jerked quickly out, spinning the metal wheel of the winch around rapidly. The boom swung outward across the water, knocking the Red Sabres that were running behind it into the water.

The ship tottered for a second, off balance and the loss of wind. Thinking fast, Shivani began jerking the line back up through the winch and tightening the boom back up. The mainsail caught the wind again and the Black Flag began moving sleekly across the water. She kept tightening till they were moving at a good clip away from the bobbing heads in the sea.

"Look John. If we are caught and thrown overboard out here, we will drown. I say we tack back now to be heading into shore, and just hide. When we get close to shore we can climb out of the hold and jump in and swim to shore."

"How will we know when we are close enough?"

"Listen for the gulls. They stick to the shore. Now look, they've tied off the helm We just need to untie it and turn the boat around. Aim it up that way, that will be close to Daggerfall."

* * *

Shivani picked up the sextant. "Do you know how to use this John?" He shook his head no. "Okay, well then we will just have to make a guess. The sun is over there, and we know it's morning so that must be east. Oh look, here is the helmsman's log."

Shivani picked up the quill and read the last entry in the log, then found the place on the charts. "Look John, there is no entry for today. The last entry is for the cove last night. Here, here it is on the charts, now put your finger right there and don't move it."

She looked at the sun and then the large compass encased in a glass globe. "Okay, look John. We are going at an angle like this. Now I don't know how far we would be on the charts, but to get to Daggerfall we need to be going at an angle like…this…I think." Shivani marked it on the chart and then logged it in the journal, trying to imitate the rough lettering of the previous entry.

"I'll turn the helm, you tie it off. Okay, ready about." Shivani said.

"Aye" John said, and tightened up the line to the main sail. "Ready."

* * *

"Coming about." Shivani made a wide circle as she had seen the Coxswain do, keeping the stern of the boat away from the wind.

John loosened the lines on the sail a little too far, then tightened them in just until they were close-hauled. The ship began surging forward at a rapid pace. "I'll bet we are going ten knots!" He said in awe-struck tones.

Shivani smiled at his enthusiasm as she set her course and then checked the compass. "Okay John, I've logged the compass setting in the journal, tie the helm so it stays within five degrees either way of that setting. See here on the compass? That should get us to the mouth of the Iliac Bay where we can jump off." She glanced up at John to see if he was understanding her directions. His eyes were shining, his face a radiant glow.

"What is it John?"

"Us…handling the ship…Master Jack, it was smooth as glass the way you came about. We worked like a team, like Captain and First Mates. The feel of the helm in my hands, its as if I was always meant to be standing behind the helm, the wood warms to my hand and the feel and sound of the water rushing against the hull…"

* * *

"I know, it felt good to me too. We did make a good team. We better get down in the anchor hold before someone comes up on deck and spots us."

"But…I'm hungry."

"We can't cook anything now, we'll be killed. And we have poisoned that stew with drugs, if there is any left that is. Let us just go get a drink of clean water and we will have to live on that."

Sneaking down below was not as hard as they thought, it was like a morgue below decks. Not a soul moving, only a low moaning sound coming from the forward cabins.

"Hurry John, this is giving me the creeps. Something is strange about all this. No one is about above or below decks."

* * *

John primed the pump. When the blackened bilge water cleared and the glistening pure water flowed Shivani cupped her hands under the tap several times and then pumped for John to do the same.

"Have you had enough?" Shivani asked.

John looked up, round eyed. "Yes, yes! That is fine Master Jack! I sure could use some exercise, how about you? Did I ever tell you about…"

"Shh! You need to be quiet! We will be caught and killed! I feel kind of energetic too though. I remember one time…"

"Let's go clean the decks above, they were disgusting." John said enthusiastically, his eyes almost bulging in his head.

"Great idea! Come on, let's go!" Shivani reached down and turned the valve back for the bilge water to flow from the pumps.

* * *

They hurried up on deck and swabbed the ship from bow to stern till it gleamed in the sunlight and the lines were all coiled into alternating patterns of circles or figure eights below each cleat.

"What should we do now?" John could not stand still and was shifting his weight back and forth.

"Stop weaving, you will make me seasick. What…what was that?"

"It's fish! Look at them! Why are they acting so strange? I've never seen a fish act like that before!" Evil John said, wide eyed.

"Neither have I. What is wrong with them? They…watch out John, they are jumping into the boat! What is that floating in the water?"

"Those are the bottles from the drugs, remember we threw them overboard. We must be getting close to where we turned back around the other day. Look, there are hundreds of bottles floating. Do you think that is what is making the fish act so strange?"

"It has to be. Look, the deck is filling with them. I just scrubbed that deck! They are dirtying it up! Quick John, open up that hold in the stern and start shoving the fish down in there."

* * *

*.*

* * *

The hold was filled to capacity quickly. Shivani rolled the dinghy up and pulled a tarp out. "Here John, fill this up. I've never seen so many fish in my life!"

"Me neither. It will make one huge fish fry."

"These can't be eaten, they are drugged."

"Well what will we do with them then?"

"Nothing, we are getting off, remember? Look, there are the gulls, we must be getting close to land. Climb up into the crow's nest and see if you spot land ahead.."

John shimmied up the mast, eschewing the use of most of the wedges nailed up for climbing. He raised the spyglass. When he saw no land sightings ahead he trained it around to the sides, calling out silly things like, "Thar she blows!"

* * *

Shivani smiled. At least he was safe up there, and enjoying himself like a child his age should be, but it was beginning to make her nervous that he kept calling. Someone would hear and come up on deck. Finally he called out the one she was waiting for.

"Land ho!"

Shivani shaded her eyes and looked up at the crow's nest. Why was he pointing to the port side of the ship instead of ahead? She ran to the charts. It must be Cespar Island…she hoped. She waved John down. "Hurry!"

"We've got to change course and fast!" She called to him as he hurried up to her. "Prepare to gybe."

"Ready." John called.

Shivani pulled John down into the cockpit so the swinging boom wouldn't knock him out. "Remember, when we are gybing you have to watch the boom. Gybe oh!"

The main boom swung hard across the beam of the ship, the lines slamming hard against the locking winch. "Good thing I locked 'em down." John muttered.

"Okay John, this is important. You need to look for another island to the port side and any land ahead of us. I just hope we are where I think we are."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Daggerfall**

It was a while before the cliffs of Dragon Grove came into view. Shivani shifted the helm to run along side them, just barely skirting the wind enough to travel at a smooth pace. John tightened the sails up. She could see the shoals below the cliffs and knew she and John would not survive if they jumped here, nor could they bring the boat in any closer.

John pointed ahead on the port side a smallish island. "Is that the island you were looking for?

"It has to be Betony. That means Daggerfall is dead ahead of us. That right there is the mouth of the Iliac Bay. Right here on the chart is where we are. Look at this chart John. See those things? Those are huge rocks. We want to get to this cove right here, there are two major cities in there if we can get that far. I want you to hang over the bow and watch for anything below the surface. If you see anything at all, just yell to get my attention and then point in the direction I should go to avoid hitting it."

"Aye Aye Captain." John saluted.

"Go on with you John, you will have us hung for mutiny."

* * *

They barely eked into the main port, slowly gliding over the water as they gaped at the size of the towns. "Coo, this makes Anvil look like a shantytown!" John said in an awed voice.

"I think it makes the Imperial City look like a shantytown." Shivani barely whispered. "Look, there is a huge boardwalk and a place to tie up. It looks like the Market District is there, that is where we need to go. Run up and drop the sails and we will just glide in."

John furled the sail tightly and tied it down to the boom. Shivani noted how quick and agile he was out here on deck, a lot different than how he was in the galley. This was where he needed to work.

As they barely edged alongside the dock John leaped over to it with a line from the bow in his hand and tied it off on a huge cleat nailed down to the docks. Shivani threw him a line from the stern of the boat and he secured it quickly.

"Lay these wads of sacking down between the boat and the dock so it doesn't ruin our nice white paint job." Shivani said, throwing some of the wads to John.

* * *

*.*

* * *

He ran and tied a line of them down the side of the ship as a crowd began to gather on the docks to stare at them.

"What are you carrying?" Some of them called out.

Shivani didn't want to holler out Skooma, especially since she didn't know where it was kept. Her eye landed on the dinghy in the back.

"Fish." She called out, thinking that would be the end of it.

The men began leaping on board.

"Hey, I just swabbed that deck!" Shivani hollered.

"Lemme see those fish." They growled.

Shivani pulled back the tarp. Before she knew it more men were leaping on board and a bidding war broke out for the fish.

* * *

"I've got more in the hold, John will you open it up please?"

John started haggling with the men, and soon buckets of the fish were being carried off the ship. When all the fish were gone he handed the large bags of Septims over to Shivani.

"Look Master Jack, we are rich!"

"John, are you telling me you got all this gold for those fish?" Shivani couldn't believe her eyes.

"They said that storm we avoided blew their fishing around here. The regular fishing boats took off and said they would be back if they found any fish. They haven't returned, so all the markets and restaurants have had people out here waiting to make sure they got them first. We got more for them because they were competing. That huge bag there was from the castle! Imagine, royalty will be eating fish we caught!" John exclaimed. "What will we do with all this gold?"

* * *

*.*

* * *

"I think we need to use it to buy a quick exit out of here before everyone is poisoned by those fish, especially at the castle! Don't you remember they were drugged fish?"

"Oh… no, oh no! What are we going to do?"

"Look John, no one has come up from below. Maybe they are all dead. If they are we will just take the Black Flag and sail it back to Anvil immediately. We need to go below decks and look though.. "

"Well, okay, but I don't relish the idea of seeing a dead body. You better go first since you are the oldest." John said.

Shivani could see the fear in his eyes, but she was afraid too. They would have a better chance together.

"No, we are in this together, we do everything together." Shivani said firmly. For once Evil John did not argue.

* * *

The ship was an eerie tomb, silent as the grave till they got to the forward cabins where the Captain and the Red Sabres bunked. Strange moaning sounds and poundings were coming from them.

John turned to her. "I hear ghosts!"

"You and your ghosts, John. Ghosts don't pound like that. Something is wrong. We have to take a chance and find out what it is."

"No we don't, lets just get our stuff and get out. Remember Captain Dugal said to kill us."

"That is because he thought the men liked our stew. Those men were on drugs, they even liked the rat stew. The drugs must give them some kind of munchies or something."

"I'll bet stew is just street slang for drugs!" John said as if it was a huge revelation.

"I already figured that out." Shivani said. "Now come on, let's just do it. Be ready to run when I open up the Captain's cabin."

* * *

They both got in position to run and then Shivani slowly opened the door. She and John both screamed at the same time. Captain Dugal and the other Captains and First Mates were bound and gagged on the floor!

"What happened in here?" Shivani asked, running to free Captain Dugal. "John you untie the others. "Captain Dugal sir, are you okay? Here, let me get you some wine." Shivani grabbed what looked to be a more expensive wine and popped the cork for him. "Here you are sir. What happened sir?"

"Who's up there on deck? Where is everyone?"

"No one sir. We haven't seen a soul till you. We feared everyone was dead."

"Why don't I hear the water on the hull?"

"We're docked sir. Tied up in Daggerfall."

"Well if you haven't seen a soul, how'd we get into Daggerfall?" It looked as if the Captain's eyes may start from his head.

* * *

*.*

* * *

"Evil John and I did it sir. We didn't know what to do, so we brought her in where you said you wanted to go."

"Ye' can't tell me ye' got in the mouth of the Iliac alive, two cooks?"

"No sir. Evil John is meant to be up on deck sir. He is more suited to up there. And sir…we found out something a little while ago. The crew were on drugs. When they said they wanted stew, they were talking about drugs, that is the lingo for drugs on the streets. It wasn't our stew they were talking about."

"But they were fightin' to git the cooks on board their ship, an' that is the two of you!"

"Sir, if I may. Cooks are the street lingo for the one that sells the drugs. They weren't talking about us." Evil John stepped forward.

"An' who was that sellin' the drugs then?"

"We don't know. We only worked in the galley." Evil John piped up.

* * *

Shivani stepped up. "Sir, we found bags of drugs under the dinghy. They're still there, we didn't know what to do with them. Sir, who attacked you this way? Evil John and I will hunt them down if you would like."

Evil John squawked and Shivani trod on his foot.

"My Sabres'll take care of them that done this. Where are they?" Captain Dugal growled.

"We haven't checked for them yet sir, we thought it best to rescue you first." Evil John said, a note of pride ringing in his voice. Shivani trod on his foot again. "OW!"

"Mind yourself." She said under her breath to John.

Captain Dugal stared at them both for an extended minute as if trying to make up his mind about something. "Let me see these bags of drugs then, because them that tied us up said drugs was stolen from them, and they found a bag of them in the Captain of the Galleon's cabin."

* * *

Shivani led him up to the dinghy and pulled the sacks out from behind it. "Here they are sir."

Captain Dugal was sniffing the air. "Somethin' smells…like…fish! Has there been a woman on my ship?" He glared down at them.

"I don't know sir. When the fighting broke out, Master Jack and I hid." John said. Shivani elbowed him.

"Sir, we did see a woman on board. She was dressed like a Red Sabre, and the other Sabres tried to push her overboard but she dragged them in during the scuffle." Shivani said. "We couldn't stop the ship quick enough."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Evil John said.

"Are you telling me one of my own Sabres was a woman? Don't you think I would know something like that? Which one are ye' trying to say was a woman?" Anger appeared to be boiling over his features.

* * *

*.*

* * *

"It was John, sir." Shivani improvised.

"Scurvy John?" Captain Dugal demanded.

"No! No sir, the other John."

"What do ye' mean, there are eight more John's at least! Which one?"

"Er…I think it was John the Gauntlet…John." Shivani tried to think of a name.

"Gauntlet John? But he had a beard!"

Evil John stepped up. "She, sir. I know, it was a disgustin' sight."

* * *

Captain Dugal put his hand across his forehead as if to push the image out of his mind. He turned away and suddenly the full effect of the neatly coiled lines on the deck swam into his vision. Evil John and Shivani watched as his expression changed to horror and then his eyes seemed to start from his head.

"What in the hell? Who in blue blazes painted my ship white? Who would do that to me? I'll skewer the bastard!"

"The drugged crew members did it sir. We couldn't stop 'em." John stepped up quickly.

"If they're alive, I'll kill 'em! An' I'll torture 'em first!" Captain Dugal roared and then spat.

Shivani's knees bent to clean up the spit and she caught Evil John shaking his head no. She slowly raised back up.

* * *

"The two of ye' check the cabins and see where that slimy crew is. And find me Red Sabres first!" Captain Dugal sat down at the highly polished helm and took a long swig on the wine bottle.

He looked at the pristine patterns of coiled lines and perfectly furled sails, the polished tackle and winches…and the brass compass cover that shown so he could see his reflection. The gunwales were painted perfectly, not even a drip anywhere…white.

Unable to stand it another second he got up and stepped out onto the dock. At the last second he turned and looked back at his ship. "GAAAAAH! BASTARDS!" He shouted. The sides of the ship had been painted white all the way down to the waterline!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Captain Dugal Joins Commodore Fasil Umbranox's Navy**

The Captains and First Mates from the other two ships disembarked and joined Captain Dugal on the dock.

"Magnificent ship Captain! You must have the best crew in the Navy!" The Captain of the Frigate beamed looking enviously at the immaculate ship.

"I may be sick." Captain Dugal spat and turned away. "I need a drink!" He staggered toward the nearest pub, still clutching the wine bottle in his hand.

"Don't you want to find out about your crew?" The Captain of the Galleon asked.

"Aye, I'll be wantin' to kill 'em later. I need a drink before I can face the sight of me boat."

The others went with him to the nearest pub, but before they could step into the door two people ran out clutching their stomachs and vomited on the doorstep.

"Aye, I commiserate with ye' lads. I feel like doing the same." Captain Dugal said as he stepped over the puddle.

* * *

John and Shivani hung close together as they inspected the cabins. Most of the crew was missing, but they found twenty plus dead, foam oozing from their mouths in the cabins below.

When they reached the Red Sabre cabins they found Jak Silver, Scurvy John Hoff, Alacanti, and Zedrick Green tied up and gagged in their cabins. They quickly cut them loose and went to check the other Sabre cabins. Khafiz, Tahm Blackwell, Kovan Kren, and Yinz'r were all found tied up in their cabins as well. Grim and Mellowman the Mongrel in the next cabin were the same.

"What happened?" Shivani asked, lowering her voice.

"That damned crew, that's what. They attacked us looking for drugs." Yinz'r spat.

"We can't find any crew members…live. The ones we found aboard all have foam coming out of their mouths and are stiff as boards." Evil John said, then put his hand over his mouth and ran.

* * *

*.*

* * *

"Where's Captain Dugal?"

"We found him first and untied him. He went to the pub to get drunk so he could come back and kill any crew members he sees."

"Well, we're not crew. We're Sabres. But you and Evil John are crew. Have you thought about that? I shouldn't be warning you, but I've taken a liking to you and the lad" Khafiz said.

"Yes sir. Evil John and I, we'll be getting off here, but we wanted to rescue you first since you've been good to us.

"Well, it sure was good while it lasted. I guess we'll all go back to eating swill. We'll have to get the bodies off the boat for they stink the place up." Yinz'r started toward the door.

Shivani's face turned green, and hand over her mouth she pushed by him and followed Evil John's path out to the deck.

* * *

Evil John and Shivani hovered in the bow, watching the bloated bodies floating on the surface as the Sabres pitched them overboard. The sight on shore was an odd mixture of people squirming on the ground vomiting and others hurriedly cleaning up the mess.

"Daggerfall is a strange place, look how everyone is acting!" Evil John pointed to the dock. "Half are sick and half are cleaning like maniacs."

"They've been eating that fish we sold them Evil John. Those that are sick will die just like the crew in the hull, with foam coming out their mouths. We've got to get out of here. The Sabres warned us to get off, the Captain will be killing us. We need to get going while he is in the pub."

"You're right, it's just…what if we get off and those people come after us to kill us? That is a whole town, I think we have a better chance of survival if we just take the ship while the Captain is in there getting drunk. Get back to Anvil where we know…people."

"But the Sabres are on board. We can't very well kidnap a bunch of armed pirates."

* * *

*.*

* * *

"I think we better do something quick. Look there." Evil John pointed to the winding road coming down the mountainside. "That is the Royals that bought fish earlier, and it looks like they have the whole Army with them. I think they are coming for us."

"Oh dear gods, do you think we killed Queen Mynisera? What can we do?"

"Cast off quick. We got time to get turned around before they reach the shore if we hurry. I'd rather take my chances with the Sabres than the Royals, they'll cut our heads off or put us in a dungeon." Even as he was speaking Evil John had reached down and cut the tie lines with his knife. He grabbed a docking hook on a long rod and pushed the bow of the Black Flag out into the channel and then started raising the sails. "Get to the helm, quick."

"John, we can't!" Shivani said, but ran to the helm anyway.

"Tell the Sabres that the Captain told us to go on ahead, that he is coming behind with the Frigate. I don't care what you tell them, if you don't move we won't be in any condition to tell them anything. This is our only chance!" John called while raising the mainsail and jib.

* * *

********* Captain Dugal**

The Captain of the Galleon made a bolt for the door, shoving Captain Dugal hard into the doorframe just as he was stepping out of the pub. He promptly and violently emptied his stomach across the boots of Captain Dugal.

"Watch what yer' doin' ye' stupid…" Just then the sight of a ship that looked mysteriously like a white version of the Black Flag leaving the harbor under full sail caught his eye. "Me ship! Someone's stealin' me ship!"

Captain Dugal took a step forward and slid in the Galleon Captains vomit. As he struggled to rise the Armies of Daggerfall and the Castle Necromoghan Royal guard swarmed the dock area.

"There's the swarmy bastards that sold us the poisoned fish, they're getting away! Call out the Royal Navy! Get the mages to the front lines, I want that ship stopped!"

* * *

A line of mages ran to pier and lined it, casting huge fireballs at the Black Flag as it slid smoothly through the waters past the Isle of Betony.

Captain Dugal's eyes darted to the Frigate tied up at the docks. Without a second thought he ran to it and boarded, casting off and ordering the few crew members aboard to raise the sails.

"It's the Navy! They are going after those criminals!" The shouts came from the dock.

Captain Dugal looked behind him and saw a fleet of Frigates like the one he was on shoving off from the docks and setting sail. "Me ship!" He whispered.

"Get them sails up, I want that Spinnaker up as well, we've got to beat that Navy!"

"We are the Navy sir."

* * *

*.*

* * *

"Well you just catch that ship before any of your fellow tars do then. There'll be a full weeks liberty in it for the whole crew if we reach her first and you get me aboard."

"Aye Aye Captain!" They saluted. "Man your stations, tars! A week's liberty for all if we catch the blackards first!"

Captain Dugal looked down and realized he was still wearing the uniform of the Imperial Navy.

"You! Who is your Commodore?" He pointed at the Coxswain.

"Commodore Fasil Umbranox, Captain." Came the smart reply followed by another salute.

"Blast me!" Captain Dugal spat.

"Captain sir?" The Coxswain asked.

"Just catch me…er…them blackards."

* * *

********* Shivani**

"John, look! That Naval ship is bearing down on us!"

"Man the helm, I'll hoist the spinnaker." Evil John ran to the bow and yanked the line through the pulley. The huge spinnaker billowed out, it's bright colors…"Master Jack! There's a large patch missing from the sail!"

Shivani's face colored, the square she had cut out of the sail suddenly felt as if it grated against her skin where she had bound her breasts with it. "It'll have to do Evil John. Haul us in tight to the wind fast, they are gaining on us!"

The Black Flag picked up speed, its slender form gliding across the water with grace and ease. The heavy frigate's masts towered over those of the smaller sloop, and under full sail it was able to garner much more wind. It continued looming towards them like a dark ominous cloud.

"We're losing wind, and they're still coming fast." Evil John shouted. "Step aside, let me take the helm. You tighten those lines and prepare to come about. They can't maneuver as easily as we can. We are going to weave through those islands."

* * *

"But John, that is out of our way! We can just get as close to Anvil as possible and jump ship!"

"Not if we're killed out here! We can't out-run that frigate, we have to out maneuver it."

"Okay, I'll do what you say." Shivani stepped down and started preparing for the tack.

As they slid easily across the bow of the frigate they heard FEEEYUUUU-KAPOW! The Black Flag rocked a bit.

"What was that?" Shivani yelled.

"Me Ship! Ye' idiots! Yer' firing on me ship!" Was heard coming from the frigate. "Who's that wearin' a dress up there on the bow? Mages! What are mages doin' aboard? Mages ain't never been allowed on my boats! They're no good, bad luck, an' I don't trust 'em!" Captain Dugal roared.

John and Shivani sailed by close enough to see Captain Dugal stick his foot in the rump of the mage that had thrown the fireball at the Black Flag. The caped arms flew up in the air as the slightly built mage went sailing out over the water and landed with a splash.

* * *

*.*

* * *

Shivani dropped a floating ring tied to a line out for the mage. Suddenly the coiled line at her feet jumped and pulled taut. "What is this to?" She followed the line to the stern of the ship and saw the life-ring with the mage aboard being towed behind them.

Captain Dugal was standing on the bow of the frigate glaring, and as they passed he raised his fist and shook it at them.

"Ye'll rue the day ye' stole my ship! I'll have ye' hung from the yardarms! Ye'll…"

The Black Flag pulled away as the frigate's bulky frame slowed to a crawl and made a huge wide circle coming about.

"Whew, John. That was too risky….er…by the way, that mage is…er. "

"You didn't! I wondered what that shouting was!"

"Well, I guess we could cut the line, but…what do you think we should do?"


End file.
